This Seems Right... [Shuttle... Wait!]
My head is ringing. A single voice starts poking at my consciousness like needles. I tried to ignore it and cover my ears, but the voice only grew louder instead of fading.
[...Awaken...! It is... now...!]
I kept trying to go back to sleep. The semester was over, so I had perfect freedom. '...Wait, the semester's over?'
A tiny sense of wrongness formed in an instant. The moment that wrongness stirred my buried consciousness, the faint voice became crystal clear.
[Mortal! Rise at once! You shall miss the shuttle if you do not move now!]
'...Huh?'
***
The start of vacation. In the morning, the Academy sends out its own shuttles to transport students. A small courtesy for those who live far away. However, that courtesy only lasts through the morning. After that, anyone who misses it either needs someone to pick them up or has to make their way to public transportation on their own.
The current time is 1 PM. All the shuttles have long since departed. The only person left at the shuttle stop is the staff member watching me with a pitiful look.
[I told you not to chug two whole cases of beer and pass out!!!]
'Fuck, whose fault is it for pulling out that petrification finisher?!'
While bickering with Piece over nonsense, I trudged out of the shuttle area.
[So what are you going to do now?]
'What else? I'll just take public transport.'
With that, I walked straight out of the Academy grounds. It was nothing but empty fields, but after about thirty minutes of walking, a bus stop finally appeared like an oasis in the desert.
There's always a way out—
[....Was that electronic display always completely blank?]
'Never thought I'd see something cleaner than my exam answers.'
—or so I thought for a moment. On the first day of Academy vacation, countless people come and go. As a courtesy, bus operations in the area are restricted. Thanks to that, the display looked so pristine it was questionable whether it was even powered on. Coincidentally, taxis were also on strike that day. Which left me standing here alone with nothing to catch.
[It truly is difficult to get home.]
'Let's just walk. The map says it's only about an hour.'
[......Is that not usually a distress cliché?]
'You still believe in clichés in this messy, chaotic novel?'
[That is... surprisingly convincing.]
Clichés don't exist in this day and age. None at all. Besides, I was certain.
'Getting stranded would be harder than Nophia making it to the sunny side.'
[A fair point. Why head for the sunny side in the first place? Give up.]
'Who even gets stranded in Korea? Don't be stupid.'
I left the bus stop and started walking aimlessly along the road.
***
I really am an idiot. I have no idea where I am right now.
'Help me.'
[Idiot.]
I started feeling something was wrong when I checked the map app again. The time I'd confirmed at the bus stop had definitely said one hour and thirty minutes. In other words, one hour by car. Roughly speaking, if fifteen minutes by car equals one hour on foot, then excluding variables, it should take about four hours. Excluding variables, that is.
[Why is this map app such an idiot? It's routing me in a straight line across a mountain.]
'There's a cliff right in front of me and it's telling me to go this way?'
[It must have set your destination as heaven.]
'Direct route, at least.'
In the end, I gave up on the map app and just followed the road signs along the shoulder. But how accurate can road signs really be for someone walking? Departure time was around 1:30 PM. Current time is 5:30 PM. Yet instead of familiar scenery, all I see is a landscape with not even a trace of civilization. Eventually, I got lost in a place where even my location was impossible to determine.
'...What about a place to sleep?'
[No! Stop thinking about sleeping rough already and find a solution!!]
'I can't even get back to the Academy since I'm lost. Should I just give up on everything?'
[Absolutely not! It has only been one chapter since you received a name!]
At that moment, a black vehicle approached from behind, honking loudly. It was so well-maintained that its glossy black paint still shone even in the afternoon. The interior visible through the windows was pitch black, so dark nothing could be seen. As if it refused to allow even a single ray of light inside.
Meanwhile, the honking didn't quiet down. Instead, the sound grew louder and the intervals shorter. The volume made sense since it was getting closer, but the shortening intervals felt a bit off.
'What the hell is this bastard? Honking from the first meeting.'
[Indeed. You are not even in the center of the road, yet here we are.]
Then, without slowing down at all, it swerved right next to me and passed by at an incredibly close distance.
[Are you unharmed?]
'These fuckers are really pissing me off and picking a fight?'
Of course, it didn't actually hit me, which was fortunate, but that alone was threatening enough. Just as I was debating whether to memorize the license plate—
- Screech.
The car that had passed me suddenly stopped a short distance ahead. As if it had business with me.
[Be careful.]
'From today, that car is mine, you bastards. Hand it over.'
Stretching my body to prepare for a GTA-style vehicle acquisition (forced), I slowly approached. Looking around, this place had no cameras whatsoever. A blind spot for security.
[There are no cameras nearby, so they must think they've found an easy mark.]
'If I beat them up fair and square and take it, it's not stolen goods—it's a rental, right?'
The moment the distance closed enough, I quickly reinforced my legs and kicked off the ground with heavy force. At the same time, I gauged the distance to the driver's seat. About twenty steps. Far, yet not that far. Just as the distance shrank to ten steps in an instant, I reinforced both hands and prepared to swing—
At that moment, the right rear door opened.
"Shin-woo, what are you doing here?"
"...Huh?"
I couldn't believe my eyes. Hair redder than blood, tied in twin tails. Golden eyes that hadn't lost their color even at this hour. It was the wild Hye-ji.
***
"What kind of idiot would walk that distance, you crazy bastard!!"
"...That idiot is me."
"If you needed help, you should've called!"
"But......"
"But my ass! Shut it!!"
Right now, I'm indebted to Hye-ji's car. Comfortable ride. Surprisingly spacious and luxurious interior for a midsize vehicle. Even the plush seats. Everything was great. Except for getting scolded by Hye-ji in real time from the back seat.
"By the way, Hye-ji. Why were you passing through there?"
"I left something at the dorm, so I stopped by for a bit before heading home."
[To think you could not even consider asking for help. Your head really does not work well.]
'Piece-nim, you're not exactly in a position to talk about others either.'
Then I remembered how the car had honked and passed me threateningly earlier.
"Why did you drive past so dangerously earlier?"
"You kept ignoring me, so I was just trying to signal you."
No matter how I looked at it, that was a threat, yet Hye-ji called it just a signal. Her way of thinking really was different.
"Signal me twice and the next place I'll see is the morgue."
"Don't worry. I'll take responsibility even if one of your limbs falls off."
"You mean you'll reattach it, right?"
"I'll think about that."
"......"
[You should prepare several prosthetic limbs in advance.]
'...Don't start with the premise that I'll lose them already.'
I tried to ignore the somewhat terrifying Hye-ji and looked out the window. Then Hye-ji turned to me and spoke.
"So, what's your home address? I'll drop you off."
At that moment, familiar scenery began entering my view. At this point, I could walk the rest of the way.
"Drop me off here."
"Where? I said I'd take you."
"It's too far from your place. Just let me out and I'll walk the rest."
"Tell me quickly."
"It's fine. Really, don't worry. I'll get there fast."
I tried to get out because I felt bad owing her any more favors, but—
"Tell me."
"Yes..."
Hye-ji's eyes gleamed with an intense pressure, as if she absolutely had to confirm my house. In the end, I had no choice but to give her my address.
"It's not that far."
"From your place?"
"Yeah. Since we're already here, mind if I stop by your house?"
"My house? Do you have to?"
There wasn't much to show anyway. Plus, inviting someone over felt a bit awkward. However—
"......I've never had any close friends until now, so I've never visited anyone's house before."
Because of Hye-ji's final statement, I had no choice but to take her along. The atmosphere in the car suddenly turned solemn. Even the driver started awkwardly clearing his throat.
"Is that not okay?"
".......If I refuse there, I'd be a total asshole. Fine. Come on then."
"Really? Thanks!"
[Why do you feel such reluctance about inviting Hye-ji?]
'That damn CD Kang Hyuk gave me is still in my room.'
[No, are you a fucking idiot???? Why do you still have that thing?!]
'I couldn't find the right time to throw it away. This is bad.'
Hye-ji coming over was confirmed. So I needed to clean my room quickly.
"By the way, I've never invited anyone before, so my room's kind of a mess."
".....So I'm the first?"
"Yeah. So I'll just do a quick cleanup?"
"Okay. Okay. I'll wait as long as you need!"
At least I'd bought some time to clean. Hye-ji answered cheerfully, but the driver in the front seat made an uncomfortable sound that contrasted with her mood.
Before long, we arrived in front of my house. The current time is 6:30 PM. Everyone's probably starting to eat dinner.
"This is it."
"Really? It's not far from our place at all."
Then Hye-ji leaned toward the driver's seat and made an announcement that wasn't really an announcement.
"I'm getting out here too! I'll walk home later!"
".......Fine, just don't come back too late."
His tone was quite uncomfortable for someone agreeing so readily. I wondered about it, but for now I needed to get inside, so I got out of the car. The midsize sedan that had dropped us off grew smaller and smaller until it became a dot.
"By the way, Shin-woo? Is it okay to go in without calling first?"
"They won't answer anyway. Let's just go."
Standing in front of the door lock, I couldn't remember the password. After being trapped in another space for six months, it was natural that I'd forgotten. Yet my hand moved naturally and entered the password anyway. As if my body remembered even when my mind didn't.
"There's really nothing special, so don't get your hopes up."
"Still, I'm looking forward to it? This is my first time doing something like this."
"Well, visiting a friend's house is surprisingly difficult."
".....Right.... Friend. Fuck."
[You really need to develop some awareness.]
'It's closer than colleagues or classmates, isn't it?'
[Sigh, this fucking guy.]
Somehow Hye-ji's eyes started darkening, but getting inside was the priority. When the password was entered, a cheerful notification sounded and I opened the door.
What came into view were people sitting at the dining table, just about to start dinner. First, the man. Black hair mixed with white streaks and deep wrinkles around his eyes stood out. Next, the woman. She had a youthful appearance with glossy jade-colored hair tied and draped over her shoulders. From the way she was holding chopsticks to pick up side dishes, it seemed they had just started eating.
And at my appearance, both of them stopped moving their chopsticks and stared at me. I stared back at them and spoke the words I'd been holding deep in my heart.
"......Who are you?"
They were people I'd never seen before.